Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4 Shocked yowls rose from the Clan cats and echoed through the forest. Ravenpaw staggered slightly. His right foreleg glistened, wet with blood that flowed from the deep gash on his shoulder. "We m-met five RiverClan warriors beside the stream, not far from the Sunningrocks," he went on shakily. "Oakheart was among them." "Oakheart!" Graypaw gasped beside Firepaw. "He is the deputy of RiverClan. He's one of the greatest warriors in the forest. Lucky Ravenpaw! Wish it could have been me. I'd have really—" Graypaw was silenced by a fierce glance from the old gray tom who had first sensed Ravenpaw's return. Firepaw turned his attention back to Ravenpaw. "Redtail warned Oakheart to keep his hunting parties out of ThunderClan territory. He said the next RiverClan warrior to be caught in ThunderClan territory would be killed, but Oak… Oakheart would not back down. He said his Cl- Clan had to be fed, whatever we threatened."

惊恐的嚎叫从氏族的猫群中响起，在森林中回荡。 拉文爪微微摇晃了一下。 他的右前腿闪闪发光，鲜血从他肩膀上深深的伤口流出来。 “我们在溪边遇到了五个河族战士，离太阳岩不远。”他颤抖着继续说。 “奥克哈特就是其中之一。” “Oakheart !”灰爪在火爪旁边喘着气。 “他是河族的代表。 他是森林里最伟大的战士之一。 幸运的Ravenpaw !真希望那是我。 我真的会——”格雷paw被那头最先察觉到拉文paw回来的灰老汤姆凶狠的目光吓得哑然无声。 火爪把注意力转回到拉文爪身上。 红尾巴警告奥克哈特不要让他的狩猎队进入雷霆部落的领地。 他说下一个在雷族领地被抓到的河族战士会被杀掉，但橡树…橡树心不会退缩。 他说不管我们威胁什么，他的克氏家族都得有人喂。”

Ravenpaw paused to wheeze for breath. His wound was still bleeding heavily, and he stood awkwardly to keep the weight off his shoulder. "That's when the RiverClan cats attacked. It was hard to see what was happening. The fighting was vicious. I saw Oakheart had Redtail pinned to the ground, but then Redtail…" Suddenly Ravenpaw's eyes rolled in his head and he lurched sideways. Half scrambling, half falling, he slithered off the Highrock and collapsed on the ground below. A ginger queen bounded toward him and crouched at his side. She licked his cheek briefly and called out, "Spottedleaf!" Out of the fern-shaded corner trotted the pretty tortoiseshell Firepaw had noticed sitting beside Graypaw earlier. She hurried over to Ravenpaw and mewed for the queen to stand back. Then she used her small pink nose to roll the apprentice over so that she could take a good look at the wound. She glanced up and meowed, "It's all right, Goldenflower, his wounds aren't fatal. But I'll need to fetch some cobwebs to stop the bleeding."

拉文爪停下来喘着气。 他的伤口还在大量流血，他笨拙地站着，以减轻肩上的负担。 “就在那时，河族的猫发起了攻击。 很难看到发生了什么。 战斗很激烈。我看见奥克哈特把红尾巴按在地上，可是红尾巴……”突然，拉文爪的眼睛在脑袋里转了转，身子踉跄地歪向一边。 他半是挣扎，半是坠落，从高岩崖上滑了下来，倒在下面的地上。 一个姜色皇后向他跳了过来，蹲在他身边。 她轻轻地舔了舔他的脸颊，叫道：“斑点叶子！”从蕨类植物遮荫的角落里，一只漂亮的玳瑁小跑出来，火爪早些时候注意到它坐在灰爪旁边。 她急忙走到拉文爪跟前，喵喵叫着让王后退后。 然后，她用粉红色的小鼻子把学徒翻过身来，这样她就能好好看看伤口了。 她抬头看了一眼，喵喵叫道：“没关系，金花，他的伤不是致命的。 不过我得去拿些蜘蛛网来止血。”

As Spottedleaf sprinted back to her den, the hushed silence in the clearing was broken by a mournful howl. All eyes turned to the direction it had come from. A massive dark brown tabby staggered through the gorse tunnel. Between his sharp teeth the warrior held not prey, but the lifeless body of another cat. He dragged the tattered creature into the center of the clearing. Firepaw craned his neck and glimpsed a flash of bright ginger tail hanging limply in the dust. Shock rippled through the Clan like a chill breeze. Beside Firepaw, Graypaw dropped into a crouch as grief swept over him. "Redtail!" "How did this happen, Tigerclaw?" demanded Bluestar from her position on the Highrock. Tigerclaw let the scruff of Redtail's neck fall from his mouth. He looked steadily back at Bluestar. "He died with honor, struck down by Oakheart. I couldn't save him, but I managed to take Oakheart's life while he was still gloating over his victory." Tigerclaw's voice was strong and deep. "Redtail's death was not in vain, for I doubt we'll see RiverClan hunters in our territory again."

当斑点叶跑回她的窝时，空地上的寂静被一声哀嚎打破了。 所有的目光都转向了它来的方向。 一只巨大的深棕色虎斑猫摇摇晃晃地穿过金雀花隧道。 武士锋利的牙齿间咬着的不是猎物，而是另一只猫的尸体。 他把这个破烂的家伙拖到空地中央。 火爪伸长脖子，瞥见一条亮闪闪的姜黄色尾巴软软的挂在尘土里。 震惊像一阵寒风在氏族中荡漾。 灰爪在火爪身边蹲了下来，悲伤笼罩了他。 “红尾!”“这是怎么回事，虎爪？”蓝星在海岩号上问。 虎爪把红尾巴的颈背从嘴里扯了下来。 他坚定地回头看着蓝星。 "他光荣地死去，被奥克哈特打败了。 我没能救他，但我设法夺走了奥克哈特的生命，当时他还在为自己的胜利洋洋得意。” 虎爪的声音洪亮而深沉。 “红尾巴的死没有白费，因为我怀疑河流氏族的猎人不会再出现在我们的领土上了。”

Firepaw glanced at Graypaw. The apprentice's eyes were dark with sadness. After a moment's pause, several of the cats moved forward to lick Redtail's bedraggled fur. As they groomed they purred hushed phrases to the dead warrior. Firepaw whispered into Graypaw's ear, "What are they doing?" Graypaw didn't take his eyes off the dead cat as he replied. "His spirit may have left to join StarClan, but the Clan will share tongues with Redtail one last time." "StarClan?" Firepaw echoed. "It's the tribe of heavenly warriors that watches over all Clan cats. You can see them in Silverpelt." Firepaw looked confused, so Graypaw explained. "Silverpelt is that thick band of stars you see each night stretching across the sky. Each star is a StarClan warrior. Redtail will be among them tonight." Firepaw nodded, and Graypaw stepped forward to share tongues with his dead deputy. Bluestar had remained silent while the first

火爪瞥了灰爪一眼。 学徒的眼睛因悲伤而发黑。 停了一会儿，几只猫走上前舔红尾巴被弄脏的皮毛。 他们一边梳妆打扮，一边对着死去的战士低声低语。 火爪在灰爪的耳边低语：“他们在干什么？”灰爪回答时眼睛一直盯着那只死猫。 “他的灵魂可能已经离开，加入了星际战队，但星际战队将最后一次与红尾巴分享舌头。” “StarClan ?”Firepaw回荡。 “这是天上的武士部落，负责看守所有的猫族。 你可以在Silverpelt看到它们。” 火爪看起来很困惑，于是灰爪解释道。 Silverpelt是你每晚看到的横跨天空的厚厚的星星带。 每颗星都是一名星族战士。 Redtail今晚也会在其中。” 火爪点点头，灰爪走上前去，和他死去的副手说了几句话。 蓝星公司在第一场比赛中一直保持沉默

cats came to pay their respects to Redtail. Now she leaped down from the Highrock and walked slowly toward Redtail's body. The other cats retreated and watched as their leader crouched down to share tongues with her old comrade one last time. When she had finished she raised her head and spoke. Her voice was low and thick with grief, and the Clan listened in silence. "Redtail was a brave warrior. His loyalty to ThunderClan could never be doubted. I always relied on his judgment, for it bore witness to the needs of the Clan, and was never swayed by self-interest or pride. He would have made a fine leader." Then she lowered herself onto her belly, her head bowed, her paws stretched neatly before her, and silently she grieved for her lost friend. Several other cats came and lay down beside her, their bowed heads and hunched backs echoing her mournful pose. Firepaw watched. He had not known Redtail, but he couldn't help feeling moved as he witnessed the Clan mourn. Graypaw came and stood beside him again.

猫们都来向红尾巴表示敬意。 现在她从高岩床上跳下来，慢慢朝红尾巴的尸体走去。 其他的猫都退了回去，看着他们的首领蹲下来，最后一次和她的老同志分享舌头。 说完，她抬起头开始说话。 她的声音低沉而深沉，充满了悲伤，氏族默默地听着。 “红尾巴是一个勇敢的战士。 他对雷霆家族的忠诚是毋庸置疑的。 我总是依赖他的判断，因为他的判断见证了氏族的需要，从不受个人利益或骄傲的影响。 他本可以成为一名优秀的领导人。” 然后她俯卧在地，低着头，两只爪子整齐地伸在身前，默默地为她失去的朋友悲伤。 其他几只猫过来躺在她身边，它们低着头，弓着背，呼应着她悲伤的姿势。 Firepaw关注。他不认识红尾巴，但当他看到族人哀悼时，他不禁感到感动。 灰爪又走了过来，站在他身边。

"Dustpaw will be sad," he remarked. "Dustpaw?" "Redtail's apprentice. That brown-striped tabby over there. I wonder who his new mentor will be?" Firepaw glanced over at the small tom who squatted near Redtail's body, staring unseeing at the ground. Firepaw looked past him to the Clan leader. "How long will Blusetar sit with him?" he asked. "Probably the whole night," replied Graypaw. "Redtail was her deputy for many, many moons. She won't want to let him go too quickly. He was one of the best warriors. Not as big and powerful as Tigerclaw or Lionheart, but quick and clever." Firepaw looked at Tigerclaw, admiring the strength that swelled in his powerful muscles and broad head. His massive body showed signs of his warrior life. One of his ears was split into a deep vee shape, and a thick scar sliced the bridge of his nose. Suddenly Tigerclaw stood up and stalked over to Ravenpaw. Spottedleaf was crouching beside Tigerclaw's wounded apprentice, using her teeth

“尘埃爪会伤心的，”他说。 “Dustpaw ?”“红尾的学徒。 那边那只棕色条纹虎斑猫。 不知道他的新导师会是谁？”火爪瞥了一眼小汤姆，他蹲在红尾巴旁边，茫然地盯着地面。 火爪越过他看向部族首领。 “布卢斯塔要和他呆多久？”他问。 “可能是整晚吧。”Graypaw回答。 “红尾巴是她很多很多次的副手。 她不会让他走得太快的。 他是最优秀的战士之一。 虽然没有虎爪和狮心那么大，但是又快又聪明。” 火爪看着虎爪，赞叹他那强壮的肌肉和宽阔的脑袋里膨胀起来的力量。 他魁梧的身躯显示出他曾是战士的迹象。 他的一只耳朵裂成了深深的v形，鼻梁上有一道厚厚的伤疤。 突然，虎爪站了起来，大步走向拉文爪。 斑点叶蹲在虎爪受伤的徒弟身边，用她的牙齿